1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the field of content that is viewable only based on biometric authentication.
2. Description of Related Art
Content, such as text messages, are typically sent between people and are visible to the user of the phone, regardless of the particular user's authorization to view a message. In current SMS there is no means of connecting a message with a particular user, rather it is connected with a device. Third-party SMS messages such as WHATSAPP authenticate the user on a particular device, but the application and communications are then open to anyone who has access to view the device. Typically an app, once enabled and authenticated on a phone, remains viewable to anyone who has access to unlock the phone.
In any event, messages are not tied to particular users, rather the user id is tied to a user, so while the mailbox is tied to a user, individual messages cannot have a further layer of authentication to identify the actual person viewing the message, and cannot be differentially authenticated to different users, particularly within a group message setting.
In addition, passwords do not ensure that a particular user is viewing the authenticated message. The password typically ensures that the application has, at one point, been authenticated to the user on the phone, but there is a disconnect with the particular user that is intended to be authenticated. Biometrics ensure that an actual person is being authenticated for a particular message, and may include fingerprint, retina scan, facial recognition, or other biometric indicators. However, if the user is simply authenticated, then the authentication may remain after the user has departed, and another user may see the authenticated message.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need in the art for a messaging system that permits individual messages to be biometrically authenticated to individual viewers, rather than the owners of the general mailbox of the messaging application. Preferably, the biometric authentication is maintained periodically or the entire time that the authenticated content is being viewed.